Navas has played over 80 times for Costa Rica since making his debut in 2008. He has represented the country at two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 2014 World Cup and 2018 World Cup. His impressive performances helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 tournament.[2]

2015–16

Navas with Real Madrid in 2016

With the departure of Casillas from Real Madrid, Navas inherited his number 1 shirt for the 2015–16 La Liga season.[20] Madrid agreed to transfer Navas to Manchester United in part-exchange for David de Gea on 31 August 2015, but the deal collapsed because the documents were not submitted to FIFA before the Spanish transfer deadline.[21]

Madrid thrashed Real Betis in their home opener by a score of 5–0 with a fine performance from Navas making several saves as well as stopping a penalty.[22] He was a regular starter when the team won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. Navas became the very first Costa Rican and Central American to ever play in, and win, the men's Champions League final.[23] He set a new record for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League by not conceding a single goal in his first 8 appearances; 6 of these were in the 2015–16 season. He also usurped Edwin van der Sar to reach the second spot in clean sheets behind Jens Lehmann in the all-time list. He was the most consistent keeper in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League season conceding only 3 goals in 11 appearances, keeping 9 clean sheets.[24]

2016–17

He was the starting goalkeeper when Madrid won the 2016–17 La Liga[25][26] and the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.[27] On 29 January 2017 after the 3–0 win at home to Real Sociedad in La Liga, Navas became the first player from Costa Rica to reach 100 La Liga appearances.[28] His performances during the double trophy winning season led him to win the Player of the Year for the second time at the 2017 CONCACAF Awards.[29]

2017–18

Navas (right) following Real Madrid victory at the Champions League Final in 2018, this marking his third title with the club.

Navas made his 100th appearance for Madrid during the 2–0 second leg home win over Barcelona.[30] During the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, he started eleven games, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title beating Liverpool3–1 in the final.[31] The win against Liverpool saw Navas claim his 100th victory for Madrid in only 141 appearances.[32] Navas produced some fine performances in the Champions League including a superb display against Bayern Munich in their semi-final second leg clash which helped Real Madrid qualify to the final. He made 8 saves during the game, his highest tally in a Champions League knock-out game.[33] Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes praised Navas after the game as the reason for Real Madrid's qualification.[34]

2014 World Cup

Navas made his debut in the FIFA World Cup on 14 June 2014, appearing in a 3–1 group stage win against Uruguay in Fortaleza,[47] and started the other two group games only conceding a single goal as Costa Rica qualified for the knockout stages as group winners[48] for the very first time.

2018 World Cup

In May 2018, Navas was named in the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[52] He started all three group games making 10 saves and conceding 5 goals,[53] but was unable to guide Costa Rica to a repeat of their exploits at the 2014 World Cup.

Personal life

Navas is a Christian. He spoke about his faith saying, "God for me comes first. Before every game I kneel, I open my arms and pray ... My favourite passage of the Bible is Galatians 1:10 which says: "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."[73][74] On 3 December 2014, Navas announced that he had obtained Spanish citizenship.[75][76]

A documentary film, “Hombre de Fe” (Man of Faith), based on the life of Navas was released on 28 December 2017.[77]

^"Five madridistas pick up prizes at the Facebook Football Awards". realmadrid.com. Madrid, Spain: Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016. Ronaldo (best striker and best player), James (best goal), Modric (best midfielder), Marcelo (best defender) and Navas (best goalkeeper) were the winners at the ceremony which took place at Facebook's offices in Madrid. The Real Madrid fans were also chosen as the best supporters in La Liga.